William Staite Murray

Ceramicist. Initially studied painting under his cousins William Fisher and Hettie Staite, 1893-95, and also on the Continent where he worked as a seed merchant in Belgium, Germany and France, c.1895-1900. He travelled to America and Canada, 1900-03, settled in London in 1905, and later studied pottery at Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, 1909-12. After serving in the First World War he established his own potteries at Rotherhithe, 1919-24, Wickham Road, London, 1924-29, and Bray, Berkshire, 1929-39. He taught as Head of Ceramics at the Royal College of Art from 1926 and in 1927 he was elected a member of the 7 & 5 Society. In 1939 he visited Rhodesia but due to the outbreak of war was unable to return and consequently settled near Umtali and ceased to pot. He produced simple stoneware, often incorporating brush decoration, inspired by Zen Buddhism and Chineses wares